


The King of Thieves

by dkwilliams



Category: Eroica Yori Ai o Komete | From Eroica with Love
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 07:30:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5448317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkwilliams/pseuds/dkwilliams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Klaus knows that he needs to make amends after saying the most unforgivable thing to his lover, Dorian.  He has two problems: finding Eroica and keeping him from stealing everything from him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The King of Thieves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [miss_pryss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_pryss/gifts).



" _What_ did you just say?"

Even if Klaus hadn't realized that the angry words he had just uttered were a mistake, the arctic tone of his lover's voice would have clued him in.  He hadn't meant to say them; it was his frustration over the botched attempt to recover the microfilm - which, in all fairness, wasn't Dorian's fault - and had lashed out in anger.

He wasn't, however, stupid enough to repeat them.  Instead he drew himself up and scowled.  "You heard me, dieb."

"Yes, I did."  Dorian drew himself up and turned to his men with that diamond-bright smile that had known to make his foes tremble with dread.  Or, in Klaus's case, to keep one hand on his belt and the other on any valuable within reach.  "You heard the Major, boys.  Our services are no longer required." 

He aimed that venomous smile at Klaus.  "No charge, of course, since I failed to recover the microfilm."  Dorian ignored the wail from the stingy-bug and strode off, leaving Bonham and John-Paul to grab their equipment and follow in his wake.

The Alphabet stared after Eroica and his men in dismay for a moment, then turned back to the Major.  He scowled at them.  "You heard him.  The mission is a bust.  Pack up and head back to the hotel."

It wasn't quite that simple, of course.  They had to dodge the KGB agents lying in wait for them, then find a secure place to hide for an hour before making their way to the hotel.

There was no sign of Dorian or his team at the hotel, and Agent A quickly confirmed that they had departed on the train for Bonn.  Klaus scowled and sent Agent B to book their own seats on the next train home while the rest of the Alphabets packed.  

His hotel room showed signs of Dorian's hasty departure, pillows and covers scattered over the furniture, damp towels on the floor.  Klaus scowled and opened his own suitcase to start packed, then stared in surprise at the small stuffed bear cub sitting inside it.  A quick glance confirmed that the microfilm was still in place. 

"Blasted idiot!" Klaus snarled, realizing that Dorian must have snuck in through the main door while he and his men were playing hide&seek with the KGB, and his blood ran cold.  Stupid thief, risking his life like that!  Klaus would give him a piece of his mind when he next saw him.

Which, he thought, as he stared around his Dorian-less bedroom at the Schloss, might be a while.  Dorian's cosmetic and jewelry case was gone, which meant that the thief was as well.  He was reassured to see that Dorian's clothes were still hanging in the closet and filling the drawers in his dresser, which meant that this wasn't a permanent separation.  Still, the Schloss seemed somehow empty with Dorian missing from it.

So, it appeared, were all the paintings in the Long Gallery, including pumpkin pants.

******************

The next day, Klaus told Herr Hinkle that the paintings had been sent out to be cleaned and took the microfilm into the office, although the bear remained back at the Schloss.  The paperwork concerning the assignment was completed, but Klaus's attention couldn't have been said to have been on his work.  He kept glancing at the telephone, waiting for it to ring.  Dorian was angry with him, but surely not so angry that he would ignore him completely.  He would complain, he would pout dramatically, he would demand some sort of extravagant token of apology but would accept Klaus's single gruff word of apology in the end.

The phone didn't ring all day.  Klaus's hand hovered over it twice, although each time he clenched his fist and dropped it back onto his lap.

Midway through the afternoon Agent A knocked on the door and entered his office.  "Major?  I just spoke with Bonham.  The Earl hasn't returned to Castle Gloria yet - he sent them ahead."  He set a slip of paper on the desk and then quietly left. 

Klaus picked up the paper and saw that it was the name of a hotel and a room number.  He dialed the hotel but hung up before anyone answered.  If Dorian was still this angry then Klaus would need to soften him up before he spoke to him.  A dozen of his favorite red roses should work.

******************

On the second day, Klaus entered his office and then started swearing.  All of his neat stacks of papers and files were in same careful position as they had been when he left, except they were on the floor.  His desk and chair were gone.  

"A!" Klaus bellowed.  "Where is my damn desk?"

Agent A came skittering into the office and stared, wide-eyed, at the floor.  "Sir!" he stammered.  "I - where - Major, I swear no one came through the office since we arrived!"

"Then check security to see who entered the building overnight," Klaus barked, although he knew that nothing would turn up.  The culprit would turn out to be the janitor or cleaning woman, clearly Eroica in disguise.  "And Z! Requisition me a new desk!"

In the middle of his "desktop" was a cardboard box.  Warily, Klaus opened it and saw that it contained shredded rose petals.  From about a dozen roses. 

Clearly, he would have to come up with a different strategy.  A box of Dorian's favorite chocolates should sweeten his temper.

 

******************

On the third day, Klaus entered the office in a foul mood.  Someone had removed all of the Nescafe at the Schloss.  All of it, even the emergency stash that Hinkle kept hidden in the back of the pantry.  Klaus had been so aghast at the audacity of the robbery that he had stood staring at Herr Hinkle, wringing his hands in misery, for a full five minutes before turning on his heel and leaving the Schloss. 

His temper was not improved by the sight of a box of the finest Swiss chocolates lying on the floor of Klaus's office.  The clear imprint of a booted foot in the middle of the lid just added insult to injury.

It had taken two cups of Nescafe, slowly savored as he balanced on the rickety replacement chair in his office, before Klaus could marshal enough energy to conduct the briefing for the next mission.  

Unfortunately, Agent K went face-down on the conference table ten minutes into the meeting.   Someone forgot to warn the new agent about Dorian's fondness for knock-out drops.  As Agents M,N,O, and P carried the downed agent to the lounge to rest, Agent G slipped Klaus the name of the best jeweler in Bonn. 

 

*****************

The following day, Klaus stomped into the office in an even fouler mood.  Herr Hinkle had reported a second break-in at the schloss, and the entire case of Nescafe he'd purchased had disappeared, with not a single drop left behind.

"B!" he snarled.  "Coffee!"

Agent B rose from his desk, looking pale as a ghost.  "Major!  Your - your coffee!"

"Yes, yes," Klaus said irritably.  "Fetch it now!  Schnell!"

"But sir!  It's - it's gone! Both cans!"

Klaus closed his eyes and attempted to draw in a deep, cleansing breath.  It didn't seem to do anything to calm him down.

"Agent G!  The supermarket - now!"

Agent G practically ran out of the office, quite a feat in the two inch heels he was sporting that day, and looked positively relieved at the opportunity to escape.  The rest of the Alphabet scattered about the office, trying to look quite busy while being very, very quiet, until Agent G returned with the treasured Nescafe.  An extra-large mug of the ambrosial elixir was handed to the Major and everyone drew a sigh of relief.

It was almost enough to soothe his wounded pride over the sight of the exquisite jewelry box lying in his trash can.

 

*******************

The next day, Klaus confronted his white-faced and trembling team, each of them mentally packing their warmest clothing for Alaska.

"What do you mean, there is no Nescafe anywhere?" he demanded of Agent A.

"Sir," Agent A stammered.  "It's - it's been recalled!  All of it!  By the manufacturer, Major.  S-some kind of contamination..."  His voice trailed off as the Major's face darkened.

"So," Klaus said after a moment of silence so loud that it could probably be heard on the North Downs of England.  He drew in a deep breath.  "I am going out.  I will be back shortly."

The Alphabet exchanged a look as their leader stomped out of the office.  "Where do you think he's going?" Agent C whispered to Agent S who shook his head.

"Probably to arrange for a tactical air-strike on Castle Gloria," was Agent Q's opinion.  The others snickered and drifted back to their work, careful to look busy when the Major returned an hour later.   He was carrying a Styrofoam cup of mediocre coffee, looking resigned to the fates.  Agent B thought he detected a whiff of the Earl's favorite fragrance on the Major's coat but wisely said nothing.

 *********************

That evening, Klaus returned to the schloss and found it was a scene of domestic tranquility.  Herr Hinkle was supervising the rehanging of the paintings in the gallery, each of them in pristine condition, but he paused long enough to hand the Major a perfectly prepared mug of Nescafe.  Klaus inhaled the blessed fragrance and took a deep swallow, then continued up to the master bedroom.  Inside, he was pleased to observe a tousled blond head resting on the pillow in their bed, right where his lover belonged.  On the night-table on the side of the bed unofficially designated as Dorian's side was a vase containing a single white rose with a doll-sized golden crown nestled on its perfect petals.

Klaus observed it with satisfaction and went into the bathroom to change into his pajamas.  He would undoubtedly need to be well-rested in order to finish making his apology to the undisputed King of Thieves.


End file.
